The Partner of Death
by Sang Joyeux bonne
Summary: Harry had always known that fate liked to mess with him. What he didn't know was that he'd still be fate's whipping boy, even after his 'death'. He never should have touched those damn Hallows. This is the first story, the second is still in the creation process.


**Real Steel/ Harry Potter crossover  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I own Real Steel. I am in no way making any profit off of this story. **

**Hello everyone! I have wanted to create this story for some time now. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have when writing it. This story will have a sequel but it will be a different HP X-Over**

**Word Count: 13,524**

**UnBeta'd**

**Pairing: None**

**Chapter 1**

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Shadows played along the walls of the ancient castle's cobble-stoned corridors with the soft footsteps of a lone figure as foreboding music. The ancient castle that had once been a place of safety and precious memories was now wrought with destruction and sorrow. It was left in destruction by one who had walked through her halls once upon a time as she had provided him shelter. This was the ultimate betrayal, one that could never be forgiven or forgotten.

The halls of Hogwarts had never been a place for battles of war; it was supposed to be a safe-haven for those in need and a place of education for children. However now it laid half in ruins with its wards destroyed and the bodies of the deceased strewn in rows in the Great Hall. The sorrow and raw pain could be felt easily throughout the castle.

_'It's all my fault,'_the small lithe figure thought as it moved through the small corridor, listening to the moans and wails of those who were mourning lost sons, daughters, friends and teachers. The monster had come for him and only him, but he had let everyone sacrifice themselves without a second thought because of the bloody Horcruxes.

_'If only I hadn't come to Hogwarts,'_the figure thought as it finally stepped out into the pale incandescent glow of the moon, revealing the determined face of a small male with ebony hair, glowing emerald eyes, huge oval shaped glasses, and his most prominent feature, a lightning bolt scar on his pale forehead. The same scar that had made him realize just what he was to Tom Marvolo Riddle and what his destiny would be.

_'Now it's up to you guys to finish the battle. Goodbye my friends,'_and with that thought, the figure turned away from the war torn castle and ran towards the dark looming forest where his fate would be decided.

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Harry slowly walked through the forbidden forest after he had been sure he wouldn't be spotted by any of the Order members or his friends. He knew what he had to do and he would be damned if he let them stop him. Too many people had died because of him and this was the only way to be sure that the monster known as Voldemort would never return.

Harry had always had the suspicion that his connection to Voldemort was something more than just a mind link, but he had never thought that the reason behind it all was because he was a Horcrux. After viewing Snape's memories he knew that it was true but he had still tried to deny what he knew was the truth. He didn't want to believe that he had been housing a piece of that monster's filthy soul. The news had almost crushed him with all of its implications.

He understood that he needed to die to kill Voldemort but he was terrified of dying, not because he would die but because of the uncertainty that was death. Would it hurt, would he go to heaven and meet his parents like the pushy missionaries that always came to the Dursleys' doorstep said? He didn't think so as it was against their religion to do witchcraft, but if the Dursleys could be _'saved'_then maybe he could as well.

A _'crunch'_sound snapped him out of his musings as he realized he had just stepped on a twig. He quickly reached into his pocket for his wand as a small comfort only to have his hands grip onto a little, cold, round object. It was the first snitch he had ever caught! The one with the cryptic last message that Dumbledore had left him!

He shakily brought the small snitch to his lips as it read in tiny elegant script_**, 'I open at the close,' **_and whispered, "I am ready to die."

His seeker reflexes were the only thing that allowed him to catch the small obsidian object that fell out of the golden winged ball. It was cool to the touch but Harry could feel his magic telling him that this was no ordinary stone. It was powerful and had a similar feel as his cloak. All of a sudden it hit him, the resurrection stone!

He gently palmed the cool stone before turning it thrice and watching as white translucent figures escaped from its confines. There standing before him while smiling happily were his parents Lilly and James Potter, their friend and his godfather Sirius Black, and the recently deceased Remus Lupin. The weary werewolf had protected several students from Fenrir Greyback, his sire, and was overtaken by a nameless death eater after he had killed Greyback.

"Sirius, Remus, Mum, Dad!" Harry yelled joyously as the four spirits began to chuckle at the young boy's exuberance.

"Hey there pup," Sirius said happily when Harry turned to him first. He looked much happier and healthier than when Harry had last seen him at Grimmauld Place.

Harry's joyous expression quickly fell to one of fear when he remembered what he was about to face.

"Does...does it...hurt?" He asked shyly as Sirius looked at him sadly. His pup had been through enough and did not need any more complications in his life.

"No...It's just like falling asleep. Don't worry Harry; we'll be with you the entire way pup."

The other three spirits turned to him and nodded their heads with serene smiles as Harry's fearful expression turned back to one of determination. He wasn't afraid anymore with his family surrounding him. His friends would be able to defeat Voldemort with his death and they could live on happily without the threat of a Dark Lord.

"Alright, let's go."

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"Well, well...Harry Potter, have you finally come to face your death?" A snake-like man hissed as he grinned maliciously at the small waif-like boy in front of him. He had been waiting for this moment for 17 long years. He could almost taste his victory as the foolish boy walked closer to him.

Harry didn't respond to his taunt and merely stared defiantly at him which seemed to make the reptile angrier. The boy smirked; Harry figured that if he was going to die then he would first anger the Hell out of old Voldie Moldie.

"Well, enough chat. Now you shall die boy! Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort screeched out in triumph as the green light flashed towards the unmoving boy. His triumph slowly faded into puzzlement as the boy did not even try to dodge. It almost seemed like he wanted to be hit, but Voldemort shook off that thought as paranoia.

Everything seemed to slow down for Harry as he watched the sickly green light flash towards him in slow motion. It was finally going to end for him, he would finally be able to meet his parents and be happy. Harry gave one last triumphant smile to Voldemort and embraced the cold darkness that came after the spell had hit him.

_'Goodbye my friends,'_ was Harry's last coherent thought before death stole him away to an unknown destination.  
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_'Am I dead?_' Harry thought to himself as he tried to open his eyes. The ex-Boy-Who-Lived quickly found out that he couldn't even move let alone open his eyes. He had just gone into full-blown panic mode when he heard faint voices from afar.

"What are we looking for?" The owner of the voice sounded relatively young, possibly no older than twelve.

"Anything; anything I can use to put a fighting bot together." The other voice was gruff, it held an edge to it that made Harry sure he had seen some hardships.

"Hey, look!"

The voices were a bit closer now, but weren't nearly as close as they needed to be to spot him.

"What?"

Harry scoffed at the impatient gruff male-sounding voice. He was definitely not a people person.

"It's so small."

"Oh yeah, that's before your time. That's a Generation One. The very first fighting bot, they wanted him to look like us. The more human the better; crazy how quick everything changes."

Now Harry was completely confused, what in the_ bloody _hell were robots. Did they mean those things from the cartoons that Dudley used to watch, the Transformers.

"Put that in your cart." Well now it just sounded like they were stealing from wherever this place was.

"What changed?"

"Good question, boxing, human boxing, it just faded."

This statement simply made the poor Englishman even more confused, what did Boxing Day have to do with robots?

"Why?"

"Cause the money moved on. I mean, people wanted more carnage, more show. These guys just gave us what the people wanted. It's been that way ever since."

The voices were coming closer to Harry, but seemed to echo strangely, almost as if he was in a…ditch or hole.

"You still had human fighters, human bodies. So, you couldn't give the people what they really wanted. True, no holds barred violence. So, the next logical step, get the humans out of there and let the machines kill each other."

This made Harry's stomach turn a little, what kind of savage place had he been sent to? These people were able to walk about and watch this savagery that was their _entertainment_. It was sickening to the young wizard that these _robots, _which he had no idea what they were other than living aliens from the planet Cybertron, were brought into arenas and were made to fight to the death.

"Do you miss it…boxing, do you miss it?"

"Be careful."

They were very close now, almost right above him by the sounds of it.

"What? I wanna know!"

"Be careful, you're on a cliff."

Harry could now hear their footsteps and the sound of the rain drops pelting the soft ground. He also heard a slight rumble, one that seemed familiar now after his Horcrux hunting days in the wilderness. He couldn't quite place what this sound meant though; usually there was no time to wonder as the ground would just slide from right under hi…oh drat.

"Whoa! That's a long way down. If you fell, you'd get like...AAAAAHHHHH!"

Harry knew he had to act quickly but couldn't see where the boy was. He heard him but he still couldn't quite pin point hi…there! With his knowledge of where the boy was, he quickly thrust out his arm. He caught the boy just in time, his fingers had hooked the small boy's clothing, but something was different.

'_My hand was never this big before!' _The wizard thought as he felt the boy gently being lifted off of his fingers and onto land.

'_I must be one of those Transformer things!'_

"Charlie, I think there's an old robot in there," The boy yelled to his companion.

Harry felt his hopes of being rescued from under the pile of junk rise…

"So what? Let's go! Come on!"

…and Harry's hopes just crashed, burned, and died.

"I'm takin' him with me. He saved my life," The small boy countered bravely.

'_You tell him kid!'_

"No, you're not tak...he did not save your life! I saved your life! Let's go," The gruff voice yelled out in frustration.

'_Shut it you bloody prat and let the kid rescue me!' _

"Could you just bring the cart to the edge? I'll use the winch to get him out," The boy yelled at his companion in frustration.

"You want that piece of junk? You get the cart yourself, I'm through here!"

'_Bloody Arsehole! I'm coming after you first when I get out of here!'_ Harry thought in contempt as the man left the small boy to dig him out.

'_How do I even get myself into these situations?'_

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"You're done, right? You're finally done, cause I sure as hell am, Charlie. I got nothing left!" A young woman's voice was the first think Harry heard when he pushed his magic out to allow him to listen.

"Alright. Maybe there's something here, this...this robot the kid brought in last night. Will you just look at it for me? Please?"

'_Ah, it seems that Charlie has had a change of heart.'_

"Bailey?"

"I've never seen anything like it before. He's Generation Two, but barely. I found a power cell that fits him and I hooked him up to this old GT remote I had, so. You can at least move him around, Charlie, but he's crap." The young woman said almost sadly.

'_Well I never!'_

"Right, so maybe I could get a sparing gig for him, make a few hundred bucks or something."

'_What! No way, I need to stay with Max! I owe him a life debt!'_

"Charlie, please. Stop!"

'_Yeah Charlie Stop being such an arse!'_

"I'm just trying to..."

"Stop!"

"He's my robot! Okay? It took me half the night dragging him out of there. He's mine." Ah, it was so nice to hear Max's small voice again. He'd at least fight for him.

"Oh, he's yours, yeah. But the parts we're putting in him, are mine!"

'_Actually, I believe that those parts are mine now that they are inside me.'_

"You two idiots should at least see if he powers up before you start fighting over him."

Harry then felt twin pairs of small delicate hands at his back. He jolted upwards when his eyes suddenly opened to see a small pale boy with dirty blond hair staring at him with big blue eyes who was definitely Max, a small young Dark haired woman who he presumed was Bailey, and a grizzled muscular man with a frown set firmly in place which was Charlie.

Max made a small wave to the dusty robot and smiled when Harry did the same. It was a cute sight, the small boy making funny motions so that the much larger robot would follow them.

"Looks like he's got a shadow function. That's...that's pretty rare. He can mime your movements and store them in memory, Max." Bailey said in surprise as Max continued his antics. It was rare for a robot to have a shadow function now-a-days and it certainly wouldn't be found in a Generation Two robot. There was something strange about this robot but maybe it would help Charlie and Max finally bond over something, Lord knows they need to.

"You think there's anything in here we could use?" Charlie, ever the opportunist asked.

"Not much," Bailey replied truthfully as she watched Charlie's face fall.

"There's a bucket...hey," Charlie snapped his fingers to get Max's attention and continued, "Hey, there's a bucket I use to wash the trucks sometimes. Now you should use it to clean him up. He smells like crap. Wash yourself off too, while you're at it. You stink."

Harry, who had been listening to the discussion while mimicking Max, bristled inwardly when he heard Charlie's last comment.

'_Well, you sure as hell don't smell like a bouquet of flowers either with your bathing schedule,'_ Harry thought as he continued to insult the man in his head. He didn't notice when Bailey went behind him and flicked a switch that made him lose all ability to control his limbs.

"So I switched him to remote, it's pretty basic."

'_What the bloody hell do you mean pretty basic!? I can't move my limbs and you're saying that this is PRETTY BASIC!?' _Harry did not like whatever it was the small brunet did to him. It made him feel vulnerable and out of control, almost like the imperious but without the haze-like trance the spell would place one in.

"Just use the toggles here to steer him and walk him. So you play video games, right?" Bailey smiled as Max gave her an incredulous look as he took the remote.

"Of course," Max stated as he led Harry away from the two adults and outside to ash him.

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"So what's your name?"

Harry stared at the young boy in front of him and smiled, well tried to. On the inside he was smiling but on the outside the only hint of his smile would be the U shape that his optics would change to. He tapped his young charge's mind with a bit of legilimancy and thought _'Atom, my name is Atom.' _The seventeen-year-old robot had seen the word in graffiti on the back of the gym's wall.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet y-…who said that? Who's there?" Max was slightly freaked out that he had just heard a voice that had a British sounding accent that he was positive Charlie could not make. He didn't believe that Bailey would mess with him like that and because he knew Charlie couldn't pretend to have an accent to save his life; it had to be someone else.

Max's eyes darted everywhere and looked behind his robot, but no one was there. He heard a tinkling laughter, but there was no one out here. There was no one but him and…the robot.

"A-are you the one…who's talking to me?"

'_Yes, you're a sharp little one. My name is Atom and I am here to help you.'_

"H-help me with what?"

'_Why, with whatever you need until you need me no more,'_ Harry smiled at Max's shocked look which quickly turned into one of suspicion.

"Alright Charlie you can come out now! I can't believe you'd get Bailey to do this!"

'_Come on Max I know you're smarter than that.'_

"Fine, say I do believe you then will you help me become the best Robot Boxer controller?"

Harry smiled at the boy and made his decision with little trouble. He had told his charge that he'd help him with whatever he needed until he did not need him anymore. This was going to be a very interesting life for the ex-wizard.

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"His name is Atom. Can we get him a fight?"

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"I'm not going into business with you, bro."

"I just need a break here, Finn. Come on!" Charlie begged as the host from crash palace turned to leave.

"What about that old bot truck out there, man? You always got somethin' in there."

"An old G2 sparring bot, it ain't worth the paint left on it. What am I supposed to do with that? Hmm?" Charlie was beginning to get irritated and that had never gotten him anywhere other than in the back of an alley with some bruises and cuts.

"The Zoo, take him to The Zoo, they fight there tomorrow."

"Not even I wouldn't be caught dead at The Zoo. I mean, Finn, man, I just need a little loan, somethin'." Charlie begged as he saw his chances of ever being able to show his face in the robot fighting circuit dwindling.

"What? You serious, Charlie?" Finn looked at Charlie incredulously and turned around to walk away.

"A loan? Somethin'? Couple of hundred, a few hundred, whatever you got. Huh? You know I'm good for it, alright?"

"Look, I know you, man and as much as I like you, dude, you're a bad bet, brother."

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Charlie found Max staring dumbly at a Robot who was still furiously punching the air as it was carried out on a gurney.

"Did you see that? That's what's left of Axelrod!" Max was still staring at the exit where Axelrod had been taken in horrified awe.

"Where the hell have you been? I told you to stay put," Charlie growled out as he tugged on Max's arm.

"You should have seen him, Zeus was like amazing!"

"Amazing, huh?" Charlie wasn't sure if he was supposed to be angry or amused with the small boy who was punching the air in excitement.

"Unbelievable! He was just peppering Axelrod with punches, but so fast. He was incredible. Axelrod didn't even land a punch; he didn't even survive the first round!" Alright, now he was starting to annoy Charlie with his hero-worship of Zeus.

"Is that what you think boxing is? Zeus beatin' up some steel that they feed him?"

"Axelrod is not just some piece of steel. And yeah, that is what boxing is now! Deal with it. And I love it, and I'm in it now."

"Oh, you're in it now, are you? Oh, you and your G2 sparring bot?" Charlie mocked as Max turned to him angrily. He and Atom had gotten very close and they now spoke on a regular basis.

"He's more than that! And if you just get us a fight, you'd see."

"Alright, you're in luck, kid. There's a lovely place called the Zoo. Tomorrow afternoon you'll get your fight."

"Great!"

"And it will be the end," Charlie said as he handed Max a paper bag.

"I told you I hate hamburgers!"

"It's a burrito!" Charlie yelled as he thrust the bag into his son's hands.

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Charlie woke up slowly, he turned to the shelf where Max slept and didn't see him. He then got up quickly as he thought, 'Oh shit! If I lose him I won't get the money!'

He ran outside but stopped when he saw Max outside teaching him what looked to be fighting moves. It was amusing to watch because Atom was following the small child's moves perfectly, even when Max went to take a sip of his Dr. Pepper.

"You've been up all night?" Charlie questioned as he neared the bench Max was sitting on.

"Yeah, I cleaned him up. I'm using shadow mode to program some fights and we should sync him to remote."

"Uh, yeah. I saw that uh...double-up ball punch you were showin' him. That's...that's lethal stuff." Charlie decided to humor the kid. As it was the G2 Bot was going to be demolished.

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"You know you're bringing him home in pieces, right?"

Max looked behind him at Atom and smiled.

"We'll see."

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Harry had been relatively quiet when they walked into the Zoo. He wasn't unnerved by the leers and jeers he was getting. It reminded him of Hogwarts when everyone thought he was called loony by the ministry. These people were interesting though. The owner of this…Zoo was apparently insisting that Max and Charlie call him Kingpin. Maybe it was just him but Harry was pretty sure that whatever name his parents had given him could not be so bad that he would rather be called Kingpin.

"So uh..." Charlie seemed just as perplexed as he felt when the man introduced himself.

"How much a round?" Ah, his young charge apparently had more courage than he had originally thought. This wasn't a bad thing but he personally knew that bravery can also be considered stupid.

"What is this, are we on a field trip?" The…man mocked, Harry absolutely refused to call him…Kingpin.

Harry watched on in amusement as Charlie through the other a look of, really that was the best you could do.

"Alright, he can fight my robot, Metro. I give you one hundred bucks for one too many rounds."

Harry didn't know whether or not to be offended when Charlie whispered to Max, "Take it."

"Three hundred." Ah there was that refreshing bout of rebelliousness that Harry had once had himself. Max was much like him in that way, other than the fact that he wasn't a wizard and had never been through war.

"One hundred! Baby boy, I'm gonna give you a hundred dollars just to get in there with Metro."

"How about five hundred for two rounds?" Max continued to bargain even though he knew the Zoo's owner was not going to raise the stakes unless he was angry.

'_So that's his plan. I didn't know that Max was this cunning. He'd definitely be a Slytherin,'_ Harry mused as Max continued to slowly anger the strange young man.

Kingpin laughed incredulously as he barked out, "Two rounds! Two rounds! Son, he ain't gonna survive one round."

"What if he does?" Max pressed on, knowing he was close to pushing Kingpin over the brink.

"He ain't!"

"Let's just say he does," Max said slyly and gave a small smirk to Harry that no one but the large robot saw.

Harry knew at that moment that Max had done it. He had gotten the man so angry that he wouldn't be thinking clearly as he raised the stakes.

"If he's still standin' after one round, I'll give you a thousand bucks!"

'_Yes, Max would do well in Slytherin.'_

Kingpin's entourage all gasped with surprise at his decision, but Kingpin simply turned and shouted, "Shut it!"

Harry laughed inwardly as Max's smirk quickly disappeared and a completely innocent look appeared when Kingpin turned to him and said, "But if he dies in there? Which he will, Junior, I get to keep what's left."

Harry decided to take offence when Charlie said, "Take the hundred." He had absolutely no faith in him.

Max's ignored him and said smugly, "Deal."

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"You should have taken the hundred," Charlie growled at Max's stupidity. Now not only was the G2 going to be taken apart but he was also going to lose out on $1,000.

"I got you a thousand," Max said stubbornly as he stared at the arena.

"Yeah, if he wins," Charlie grumbled sourly under his breath.

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The arena wasn't anything special. It looked like a junkyard to Harry with hundreds of screaming people on the outsides. It sort of reminded him of the Quidditch World Cup all those years ago These people seemed just as excited about the match as those back then did.

"You want me to drive?" Ah, there was Charlie's amazing amount of faith in him again.

The wizard turned robot simply watched with some happiness as Max turned to face his father with an angry looked and said, "He's my bot! I got this!"

Charlie wasn't going to give up that easily though, "This ain't a video game, kid. This is for real, right here!"

Harry was only slightly hurt when Max replied with, "You said he'd fall to pieces. What difference does it make?"

"Alright," Charlie finally relented but he still had his doubts and misgivings about this arrangement.

"Atom, are you sure I should drive you?" Max whispered after Charlie had turned away.

Harry looked down at his charge with kind eyes and mentally replied, _'You are my charge Max. It would be an honor to have you pilot me.'_

Max nodded to himself and whispered, this time with more conviction, "I got this."

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Harry didn't know just what to think about his first fight as a robot boxer. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have Max control him after all. He was getting absolutely pummeled by this huge blob of machinery and couldn't do anything about it because he wasn't 'shadow boxing'. Really all he was doing was imitating people, he could move for himself but Max said it would look too suspicious.

He could hear Max yelling, "Get him!" He tried to move on his own but couldn't fight his program.

Harry quickly thanked whatever higher being that was watching him out there for Charlie's presence when he yelled, "Don't yell at him; control him."

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Harry quickly switched to cursing the being when all Charlie kept saying was, "He can take a hit, I'll give you that, kid. You're robot can take a hit."

'_Yes, now Charlie why don't you be a good father and teach your son how to get me to HIT BACK!'_

Max was still struggling with the controls and Harry could feel his battery power draining as he kept getting hit by the barrage of punches Metro threw.

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Max watched on in horrified fascination as Metro continued to bash Atom with his hammer. He was completely stupefied when Atom fell and didn't get back up as quickly as he usually did. He could barely hear the cheers and jeers of the crowd when he screamed, "Get up, Atom!"

Max may not have been very close to Atom but the small bot had saved his life once before. It horrified him to watch the bot be demolished because of his unwise decision. Atom simply laid there as Metro waddled towards him, hammer drawn.

"He can't hear you. You know you're takin' to a machine, right?" Charlie snarked, annoyed at the fact that he would have to shell out $1,000.

Max just ignored him and continued yelling, "Get up, Atom!"

Suddenly Atom woke and stood just in time to finish the first round because he had heard his young charge's voice.

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Charlie grinned happily when he heard the bell ring, signaling the end of the first round. They just won $1,000 and he could still sell the sparing bot later. Maybe this kid was a chip off the ole block. His grin quickly turned smug when Kingpin came walking up to them, practically spitting fire.

"This was for a thousand bucks?" The Zoo's owner snarled angrily.

"Yeah a thousand," Charlie said, not even fazed by the anger on the young man's part.

Kingpin suddenly got a sly look on his face. It was one that made Charlie slightly uneasy. "Double or nothin' and he can't make another round."

Now he knew why. The little clown thought he could tempt him into another round when his bot was just barely standing. "Yeah, thanks but..."

Charlie was quickly cut off when Max cut it, "Deal! Double or nothin'."

Charlie looked on horrified as Kingpin's angry face split into a grin of manic glee. The kid wasn't just gonna lose him a thousand bucks and a bot but he was gonna ruin him. He quickly tried to refuse the offer but Kingpin only said, "Baby boy said it! We're back on!"

"No! No! No! No! You crazy! You just threw away a thousand bucks! He can barely stand up in there, kid! Look, I really need the money."

Max simply nodded and said, "I know. Let's do it."

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"Hey, Bailey, it's me. Hey, he won. Can you believe that? The kid's robot actually won."

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Charlie awoke to the sounds of music and metal moving outside. It was an interesting experience for him to have someone to take care of or at least be with him on the road. He usually didn't wake up until noon and it was barely 9 right now.

He slowly got out of bed and stretched, not even blinking when he saw Max's empty bed. The kid was usually out of bed before him, sitting around with that damn sparring bot of his. Really, Charlie had no idea why the kid was so damn attached to it. All Charlie saw was a hunk of scrap metal full of his hard earned parts.

He paused by the window when he saw something interesting outside. It was Max and his bot standing outside, Atom in shadow mode, dancing. It was only an adorably amusing sight to see first thing in the morning and Charlie couldn't help but chuckle at it.

"Nice moves, kid. How long have you been out here?"

Max and Atom, who followed Max's movements, whirled around to face an amused Charlie. Max grinned and said, "Check it out."

"What?"

"I've just figured out doing something amazing, incredibly amazing. If it works, you know?"

Charlie raised an inquisitive eyebrow and mumbled, "No."

Max simply continued as if he had not heard him, "You know his remote was spotty?"

Charlie nodded slowly, still not understanding where Max was going with this.

"Well, I killed it. Got rid of it, done. We don't need it anymore," Max said as he motioned towards the truck. "I got some parts from there."

"How did you...?"

Max didn't even wait for him to finish as he was too excited to wait and explained, "I had to start over, but I was able to use spin frame from Ambush."

Charlie was stunned that a kid like Max could figure out how to do all of that in one night. Before he could ask how Max had done it, the small boy had continued, "And take the circuit leads out of Noisy Boy, and it works! And he knows nothing, but it works. It really, really works!"

"What works?" Charlie was now completely confused. He had missed some of what Max had said when he was lost in thought.

"Let me turn it on," was all Max said before putting on Noisy Boy's voice command headgear.

"You put Noisey's recognition into Atom?" Charlie asked, stunned that the kid could get a piece of advanced tech like that to work in a G2 sparring bot.

Max seemed to have finally caught on to his amazement because his chest puffed up in pride as he said, "Yeah."

Max then turned to gaze at Charlie seriously and said, "Charlie, I need you to teach him to box."

It was a look that Charlie had never seen on the boy's face since he had begun to travel with him at the beginning of the summer. It had taken him by surprise so much so that his response was, "Are you kiddin' me? He's nowhere near advanced enough to handle Noisey's voice command."

"Yeah, so we need your moves, your commands. Start over," Max continued just as seriously as before. He wasn't at all bothered that Charlie had not graced his question with an answer.

"Forget it, kid."

"You were a boxer Charlie. Yesterday at The Zoo, you could see things happen before they even happened." Max decided try to appealing to the man's ego to get what he wanted.

Charlie remained stubborn though, "I haven't boxed in a long time, and I'm not starting now."

"You can teach him to fight," Max proceeded undaunted by Charlie's continuous negative answers.

"You're doin' fine, Max. You don't need me, sorry. That was really cool, though. That dance. You should...you should do that on Saturday night."

Max made a sour face as he growled out, "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm serious. Before the fight, when you guys take the ring, you should do it."

Max scoffed, "There's no way I'm dancin' with robot in front of a boxing crowd."

Charlie looked at the small blonde incredulously, "Boxing...are you kiddin' me? It's just a show, Max. People wanna see something they've never seen. Look, you think all the greats, think Ali, Sugar Ray, Prince Rakeem, Gammon, they all had...they all had their nicknames, they had their persona's, alright? They all had flair. Now you, you might not have much robot, but with that dance you got flair. Plus you're a kid! People love that kid thing. I mean, what are you? Nine? Ten?"

"I'm eleven," Max deadpanned, more annoyed at the fact that he was actually thinking about doing the dance than his father forgetting his age.

"Okay. Are...are you sure you're eleven?" Charlie was surprised that the kid was only eleven. He was smarter than most of the adults he'd ever met. He definitely got that from his mother.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm eleven," Max said angrily.

'_Yep, but that temper is all me.' _

Charlie shook his head to clear his thoughts and said, "Anyway, the point is, people wanna see that."

"You're really not messing with me?" Max questioned suspiciously.

"I'm not messing with you. They're gonna love it."

"Okay, but…"

"What?"

Max got a sly look on his face and said, "I won't do it unless help me."

Charlie balked at the thought of dancing in front of the boxing crowd. Even though he told the kid it was just a show, he'd be ruined if he danced. Max could get away with it because he was a kid; he'd look cute dancing whereas Charlie would freak people out.

"I can't dance. You're on your own there!"

"No! Boxing! I program the robot, and you teach him how to box."

Charlie nods and says, "Oh, I see. I see. And you dance?"

Max doesn't reply.

"And you dance?" Charlie questions again.

Max mumbled a surly, "Yeah."

"Deal," Charlie says as they hold out their hands. Atom was strangely silent as he watched the two other males complete their deal.

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The next morning, Charlie woke up at 6 and turned on Atom to begin their lessons. He carefully inspected the small bot before deciding how he was going to teach him. The bot was much smaller than most so he'd have to punch up at them. He then punches up as Atom copies him.

"That's it," Charlie said before doing more punches, but then Charlie stops to move his shoulder when he sees Atom doing the same movement and laughs, "You too, old man?"

'_You're the only old man here mister,'_ Harry retorted before he refocused on the lesson at hand.

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Harry was severely amused with Charlie's nervous demeanor. Who knew that the gruff angry man could get stage fright? It was a relatively new sight that Harry never got tired of seeing. When the scout for the league fights had approached them, Charlie's mouth had dropped so far that Harry could have sworn it touched the ground. Right now that stage fright was rearing its ugly head and Charlie was pacing around their waiting room.

"It's a league fight; I just want you to be relaxed. I want you to be relaxed. Okay, Max? No freaking out. Don't get all freaky deaky on me. You go freaky deaky; this whole thing can go south. Whatever you do, have fun. Have fun, you gotta have fun, you understand me? We've come too far to get out there and freak out and blow this whole thing. We're gonna have fun and we're gonna...we're gonna knock Freak out!"

'_Max, I think Charlie's broken,'_ Harry joked as Charlie looked about ready to go crazy.

Max snorted and looked at his father. The man was a ticking time bomb for a nervous breakdown but Max couldn't have that now, so when Charlie asked, "Trust me when I say no freaking out, you got it," Max just nodded.

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Harry noticed that the atmosphere between Charlie and Max had become tense right away. It was hard to miss as both were unnaturally quiet and avoided the other's eyes. It had gotten this way after their visit to the Lemkova suite. He had heard from Max that she was the woman who owned the champion fighting bot Zeus.

"Hey, did you switch him to fight mode?"

It was Charlie who finally broke the tense silence as he looked at Max. They both were still angry with each other but it made Harry happy to see that they were willing to put that all on hold for the match.

"Of course," Max said indignantly. As if he would forget to do something as important as that. Who did Charlie think he was?

"Alright," Charlie placated before continuing, "Now, this bot is tough to put down."

"Atom can do it," Max said with such conviction that Harry's heart fluttered. It was nice to have someone actually believe in him and trust him.

Charlie simply nodded before pointing to their opponent's side of the ring saying, "Max, look over there. You see those geeks with the joysticks and consoles? They're controlling everything that bot does. They're monitoring his system, seeing what he sees, stadium feeds to the fights, everything. I mean, this is not like the underground hand held remote bots we've been fighting, this is the league."

Max gulped slightly when he saw all the high tech gear on their table and looked down at their small shoddy remote and headset. Could they really do this? Max shook his head clear of all self-doubts and focused on the match ahead of them. They could and would do it.

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Harry now felt bad for scoffing at Charlie's worries. League matches were exponentially harder than those other matches they had fought. The ring was so much nicer as well as how the people looked but their bots were tougher. Personally Harry thought it was because these people got paid enough to make upgrades to their bots.

Twin Cities was no exception. The robot gave as good as it got and Charlie's commands were as spot on as usual, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge. The only reason Harry could take so many hits was because he was using his magic to keep his battery power running even though it should have given out ages ago. He hit even harder when he laced his punches with magic but didn't like to use it when they could be accused of cheating, especially in a league match. He hadn't seen Charlie ever do anything else for work so he assumed that this was the only work he did.

He could hear Max yelling at Charlie even from the far corner of the ring, "Come on, Charlie! He's getting killed in there! Tell him what to do!"

"This guy's got two heads and a further reach on us and no blind spot!"

'_No shite Sherlock now find one Charlie or else we're going to lose!' _Harry thought tiredly to himself as another punch hit his chest plate.

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"In a time of one minute, forty seven seconds of the first round, Atom has beaten…"

The announcer was cut off as Max jumped up and grabbed the microphone from him and began talking to the crowd, "I wanna thank everyone for coming out tonight!"

The crowd cheered for the small boy before he continued, "Our little bot from the junk yard got shot at a league fight! How about that?"

'_What are you doing Max?'_ Harry asked but Max did not give him an answer.

Instead, the boy continued his speech to the crowd, "And the last thing I wanna say to a special girl who won't be named, Farra Lemkova."

Max looked up at Farra standing in the owner's box and the crowd boos, majorly entertained by the change in events.

'_Max? Just what are you trying to do?'_ Harry asked, but again he received no answer.

Max continued on angrily, "That instead of buying my robot and you think your money could control the sport!"

By that point, Charlie decided to intervene and tries to stop Max from talking any further by saying, "Okay! That's good!"

However Max stays stubborn and asks, "Why not give the littlest bot a bigger shot? Huh?"

The atmosphere in the arena was so charged with energy and excitement that no one could stop Max now without a riot breaking out.

"Seriously, if you give him a shot he'll surprise you! Wouldn't you like to see a little bot get a shot at the Real Steal Championship?"

The crowd goes absolutely nuts at his next words.

"I challenge Zeus to a fight. Anytime, anyplace, anywhere! You name it, we will be there!"

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"I'm sorry about that Atom. I probably should have asked you about the whole match thing but…but they made me so angry when they wanted to buy you off of us."

Harry just nodded, accepting the apology and smiled inwardly at Max. The boy had his father's temper alright, but he could forgive him for it.

"You know that I would never do anything to put you in harm's way right? I mean, you're close to me, and uh…"

Harry's eyes lit up in realization as he said, _'I know Max. You're like a little brother to me and I understand that you just got angry and made a split-second decision. I have made plenty of those before.'_

Silence reigned after that until finally Max scooted closer to the robot and mumbled something into his hands.

'_I'm sorry Max, I couldn't quite hear that.'_

Max peered up at him through his fringe and began to speak in a monotone voice, "I did that to her you know. She really loved me and I never really appreciated it. She told me not to listen to them and their dares, but I did. I ran across the street where oncoming traffic was heading and froze when I saw the bright yellow truck coming at me at full speed. The guys had said that nothing bad would happen and that all the cars would stop, but the driver couldn't see me."

Harry listened silently as Max seemed to be drawing up the courage to finish his explanation. He had known that the kid had lost his mother but he never knew exactly what had happened to the woman. Not even Charlie seemed to know the exact details of her death.

"She saved me…she jumped and pushed me out of the way just as the truck was about to hit me. She sacrificed herself for me even though I had been an ungrateful brat to her. There was so much blood and her beautiful blue eyes were glazed over in pain. She was barely breathing by the time the ambulance arrived. They…they told me that her last words were that she loved me. I…I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Harry sighed sadly as Max silently cried next to him. He had figured that the boy blamed himself for his mother's death. They were so alike in their attitude that it made him sigh. It was just like fate to place him with another just like himself.

'_It wasn't your fault Max. I know you won't believe me because I didn't know you or your mother back then but from what I've heard do you really think your mum would want you to blame yourself. That truck driver wasn't paying attention to the road either and there are so many factors that could be blamed. My mum also died for me but I know I can't blame myself for her death because she wouldn't have wanted me to. I think it's the same for your mother.'_

Max looked up at the robot next to him with big watery eyes and nodded even though a part of him still believed that he was at fault. The small boy turned and began to rifle through a small satchel that Harry had not noticed was there and pulled out a small torn photo.

"This was taken at my aunt's wedding a year ago. The blond lady in the blue shirt is my mom and I'm next to her on the left."

Harry's eyes softened as he looked at the small photo. He could tell that this was a huge step for Max; telling someone about the tragedy is the first step to recovery.

'_She's beautiful. You look just like her.'_

This brought a sad smile to Max's lips as he pulled out a small broken butterfly pin from his shirt pocket. He held it up for Harry to see before he explained, "This was my mom's favorite pin. She gave it to me the day before she died, but I accidentally broke it when I fell off my bike later that day."

The small boy suddenly turned towards Harry with wide frantic eyes and asked, "You're not gonna leave me like she did will you Atom?"

Harry peered into the bottomless pleading azure eyes and promised, _'I will not leave if I can help it.'_

Just then, Axelrod's fight with Zeus began to play on the TV next to their sitting area. Harry paused in answering Max and looked at Zeus, really looked and was stunned. He could feel it in there, a piece of Voldemort was inside of Zeus making him so difficult to defeat. He could not for the life of him figure out why he hadn't thought of it earlier.

He should have known when he didn't die but ended up here that the Horcrux would have followed him here. The only question Harry had was why? Why was he sent here?

'_Max, promise me something about this upcoming fight.'_

The small boy nodded and said, "Anything."

**HPRSHPRSHPRSHPRSHPRSHPRSHPRS HPRSHPRSHPRSHPRSHPRHPRSHPRSH PRSHPRSHPRSHPRSHPRSHP**

As they walk towards the fighting ring, Max felt a cold feeling of dread settle upon his chest when he remembered his promise to Atom.

"We can't win, can we?" He asked Charlie fearfully as they continued walking down the hall silently, like two men heading to their execution.

Not even the, "We'll see," was able to cheer them up.

As the three made their way into the arena, they heard an ESPN Boxing Commentator say, "As the challenger makes his way into the arena, you can hear the surge of excitement. Atom has arrived onto the WRB scene with a vengeance using a style; some would call it human like, that bot fighting has rarely seen. Atom and his pint sized trainer step onto the ring and the look on Farra Lemkova face says it all, 'Welcome to the bigs, junior!'"

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"Ladies and gentlemen, in about scheduled for five rounds, for the world robot boxing championship; in the corner to my right, the challenger, Atom!"

Harry tried to cheer up Max as the announcer began introducing them but nothing would work. He finally had to give up when Charlie began instructing him to show boat for the crowd.

"And in the corner to my left, the undeniable champion of this universe and any other universe known or unknown, the mighty Zzzeeeus!"

The crowd cheered loudly as a huge Avada Kedavra green robot stalked out. It made both Max and Charlie gulp nervously when it jumped into the ring.

The two bots immediately noticed the other for what they really were. The green bot was the first to try and establish mental contact when he was met with Harry's greeting, _'Hello Tom.'_

'_POTTER! I will kill you!_' The soul shard yelled out in a crazed fashion as the match began to get underway.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for Reeeaaal Steeel!"

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After being badly beaten a few times by Zeus and each time managing to get up for the first time Harry started striking back at Zeus. Both bots threw punch after punch, dodging and circling the other like predators. The cheers of the crowd fell on deaf ears as they focused all of their attention on the other.

'_I don't know why we're here in this pathetic world Potter but I promise you that you will not survive this time!' _

Harry simply ignored Voldemort's rant. It was the same exact one every time he met the man; 'you're going to die Potter!' It did get tiring after hearing it for seven years.

'_I don't know Tom, if your flesh form couldn't defeat me then why do you think a piece of you could?'_ Harry taunted as he dodged a particularly vicious punch.

No matter how confident Harry sounded, the fight was wearing him down. He was expending a lot of his magic in keeping himself at full power and shielding his wiring. This Voldemort may not have been able to freely use magic anymore without consequences but he was still very powerful.

Harry gave a sigh of relief when he heard an announcer scream, "There's the bell! I don't believe it! Somehow Atom has survived. We will have a second round. And the crowd here is thrilled!"

'_I won't let you take over this world Tom.'_

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"Round two kicks off and incredibly the challenger, Atom's giving the champ a run for his money," Announced a commentator from above.

"Zeus tosses the smaller bot across the ring like a tinned can! That has got to do some damage!" Exclaimed the other as they continued watching the brutal match going on below them.

"Kenton working his bot with the trifecta of straight rights to the champs dome."

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Max listened and watched helplessly as his friend took blow after blow from the monstrous machine called Zeus. It was like watching a train wreck; you were horrified but could not look away. He trusted his bot when he said that he'd be okay but watching this match, he couldn't help but have his doubts.

"Toe to toe they stand trading deafening blows," the small boy heard one commentator yell out excitedly but Max couldn't see the excitement in it. His worry for Atom greatly outweighed his excitement for the match.

"Whatever strategy either corner had hooked up has been destroyed! Metal bashing metal! Steel smashing steel! This is a brawl!"

Max could agree with that. Both robots were just hammering away at each other with no signs of stopping until the bell rang, signaling the end of round 3.

"Crowds on their feet watching two machines driven to kill each other; something has to give and it does! Atom goes down again!"

Max looks away when Atom falls and sees the rest of the crowd on their feet, cheering and chanting for Atom to get up. He looks back to his fallen bot and realizes that he hasn't gotten up yet.

"It looks like its lights out for the junk yard dog that put on a heck of a show here tonight."

"**COME ON ATOM! YOU CAN DO THIS!"** Max's scream must have reached the fallen bot because he got up right after.

"And yet again Atom rises up. Kenton must have hard wired this bot with a will to go on!"

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"Midway through round four and Zeus is looking to end this thing right now."

Max's eyes wildly follow Atom's clumsy movements in horror. What just happened? Atom wasn't responding to Charlie's voice commands anymore.

"The champ is holding nothing back and as he cracks open the robot! Atom is stumbling round the ring apparently disorientated and dazed."

Max ran over to Charlie's side when he heard the man swear and asked, "What's going on?"

"I think the voice recognition is shot, he's not responding!"

Max's face blanched when he heard that and yelled in disbelief, "What?!"

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Harry knew he couldn't lose this match. He had to win for both Max's sake and his. The shard of Voldemort's soul was what was making this piece of metal so powerful. No other normal robot would be able to withstand the heavy amounts of dark magic that were pouring from it in waves.

He was getting cornered in the ring but he wouldn't give up, not yet. He still couldn't hear Charlie's voice commands so he assumed that his voice command was broken from all the magic enhanced punches he had been taking.

'_You won't survive this time Harry Potter! I will kill you!'_

Just as Zeus sent him that message mentally and cocked his fist back for the final blow, the bell rang. Both of their controllers quickly stopped the battle and moved them to their respective corners to fix whatever problems they may have.

Charlie and Max quickly placed a wooden stool under him and sat him down as they tried to fix his smoking and broken voice command box. They had both grown to become special people to Harry and he would not let them down. Voldemort's soul shard had gained almost enough magical power to become corporeal and without any wizards here to defend the world, it would quickly fall to his control. The seventeen-year-old promised himself that he would never allow anyone else to have to go through his Tyranny. He would win, even if it cost him everything.

ESPN Boxing Commentator's voice rang out through the cheers of the crowd but Harry couldn't hear him saying, "The bell sounds and once again this little robot has stunned the world!" He only had eyes for Max and Charlie, his precious friends.

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Charlie's panicked voice was the only thing Max could hear as he stared at his smoking and badly beaten up friend, "It's over, Max! He can't hear me, okay? This is murder. He's had enough!" He may not have been as close to the thing as Max but he had also grown attached to the strange little bot. Atom had brought his family together, a miracle in and of itself; he didn't want to see him have to go through this stupid death match again.

"We can save the voice recognition," Max said stubbornly as he remembered what his friend had told him earlier. He wanted to defeat Zeus at any cost and Atom had already done so much for him and his father. He just couldn't refuse this request, even if it might cost him his friend's life. It was his decision and there was something about Atom that made him believe that everything would be alright.

"So what? He can't hear me!"

"Yes, but he can see you!" Max snapped, annoyed at Charlie's pessimistic attitude.

"What?" Charlie said, staring at his son dumbly.

Max was already behind Atom and switching his modes when he answered, "I'm putting him in shadow mode, show him what to do. Without the voice recognition he'll even be faster."

"No way, No way!" Charlie was shocked that his son, who was closer to the robot than himself was adamant about going through with this execution.

"Look at them," Max shot a glance at Farra and Mashido before continuing, "They're freaking out! Rich girl's ripping him a new one over there. You know why? Cause they're scared, **cause Atom can do things no other bot has ever done**_._"

Charlie was so worried and nervous that he completely missed the strange tone Max's voice took when he said the last line. "But I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can!" Max said with the conviction that Atom had taught him to have.

"I can't! I can't!" Charlie continued panicking at the stubborn confident look his son had.

"Yes, you can. Show him what to do. You have to fight the last round."

"Max, but I can't... I don't..."

"Charlie, please! I'm begging you," Max pleaded as his friend's serious words echoed through his head.

'_Max, I will win this next match. Even if it looks like I won't be able to, don't interfere. I will win, I promise.'_

"Are you kiddin' me with those eyes?" Charlie asked incredulously as his son turned his pleading eyes on him.

The rugged man sighed angrily as he took off his coat and yelled, "Damn it!"

Max's eyes lit up in happiness, he would make sure his friend would come back alive. He would keep his promise to Atom just as the Robot had done for him and more.

"Yes!"

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Charlie turned to Atom who was staring at him intently. It was strange how whenever he would look at this robot, he felt like it could see right through him. It was this eerie feeling that made him want to get rid of Atom.

"I know you're in there! I'm not sure if you're getting this or what, but I know you're in there!" He yelled as he watched Atom's eyes show a flicker of reorganization or at least something akin to it.

"Come on Kenton, you're up."

Charlie growled as he yelled to the referee, "Yeah, give me a minute!"

Turning back to Atom he said, "I know you can't hear me but you can see me. So watch me." He paused and pointed two fingers in front of Atom's eyes and back to his saying, "Watch me."

"You know you're talking to a robot," Max teased, using the same line Charlie had used back at the Zoo.

"I know. Shut up!" Charlie said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Watch me," he repeated to Atom as he got out of the ring. The final round was about to begin and he just hopped that it wouldn't be the last one for their strange little bot.

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As soon as Charlie and Max left the ring, Harry quickly pushed his magic through his system and fixed his hearing. His voice recognition device was broken beyond repair but at least he could still hear. Voldemort would not win here, he and Charlie, unknowingly, would not allow it.

The match quickly got underway again with Zeus continuously throwing magically enhanced punches. Harry and Charlie dodged as best as they could but Zeus was still faster than the smaller bot's body could move.

'_You will die here Potter and I will take over this feeble-minded world and all the others out there!' _Voldemort's soul shard snarled as he threw even faster punches, but then Harry noticed something. Zeus was slowing down. Voldemort was tiring and when that happened it would be their chance.

'_You couldn't defeat me back in our world, what makes you think it will be different here Tom? You are even weaker here, needing the control and aid of __**muggles**__ to help you regain power. Oh how the mighty have fallen,'_ Harry taunted knowing that Zeus would throw even more punches, tiring himself faster.

"Wait a second, Herb! Are you seeing this? Charlie Kenton is shadow boxing just outside the ring." An ESPN commentator exclaimed as he watched the unbelievable match continuing.

Harry followed Charlie's moves as he listened to the cheers and exclamations of the crowd. He knew what Voldemort wanted to do. The Dark Lord wanted to corner him and taunt him before defeating him, but Harry wouldn't allow that.

"Tim, it looks like Atom has a shadow function. So basically that means Charlie Kenton is fighting the last round of this fight against Zeus."

"Well, I tell you what, it doesn't seem to be much help because Atom is backed up against the ropes again."

Harry smirked inwardly as Voldemort fell for his trap. He would win; he had to keep his promise after all.

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Max cringed as he watched Atom get cornered again by Zeus. He then panicked when he saw that Charlie wasn't trying to escape the corner but was waiting out Zeus' punches. Blow after blow rained down on Atom's small form and finally Max couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Charlie help him! Fight back!"

He was even more frightened when Charlie replied, "Not yet."

'_Oh Atom, please don't die.'_

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Harry noticed right away when Zeus began to run out of power and magical energy. He could now dodge every punch thrown his way with little to no effort. He was wondering if anyone else had noticed when he heard the ESPN Boxing Commentator shout, "Watch as Tak Mashido is personally supervising Zeus' controller as the mighty bot hammers down, furiously trying to end this thing once and for all. I gotta tell you folks, the champ looks tired! This robot seems to be running on empty."

'_It looks like it's almost time to end this once and for all Voldemort,'_ Harry thought to himself as the Dark Lord once again threw a punch.

Harry smugly followed Charlie's move to taunt Voldemort and smiled. Perhaps he and this man had more in common than he had first thought.

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"I don't believe it! Atom is taunting Zeus. He's actually asking for more," the stunned commentator yelled as Zeus continued to try to land a hit on Atom.

Suddenly, both Charlie and Atom stop moving, letting Atom take a barrage of hits. Everyone in the crowd is stunned. Have they given up after coming this far?

Max was just as shocked as the rest of the crowd and terrified that Atom may really never come back to him.

"Charlie Please do something!" He cried out desperately as his eyes were finally torn away from the brutal scene in front of him.

"Not yet!" Charlie replied again, making Max seriously question his sanity.

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Max was already in full blown panic mode when Charlie replied. He was positive that all of the pressure had gotten to Charlie and he was now throwing the match. His bright blue eyes filled with tears at the thought of losing Atom. The robot had always been there for him whenever Charlie would piss him off or when he had nightmares about his mom. He was an older brother figure that he never wanted to lose. It absolutely terrified him that he may never see him again after this match or worse, only get to see him in pieces.

"Charlie, he's not gonna last much longer. Fight back!" Max screamed again, watching, hoping for some sign of resistance from Atom.

He knew the answer before Charlie had replied when he looked at Atom's face. It screamed to him, "Not yet!"

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Charlie listened intently to the crowd as he waited for his chance. He knew that everyone had noticed Zeus weakening as the announcers had screamed, "Zeus is slowing down! Tim, the champ's power core is clearly depleting!"

It hurt him that he had to make Atom continue to get hit by the flurry of punches sent his way, but it was almost time. He could see his chance would be there in just a few seconds. Max would understand why he had waited after this one move. The desperation and pleading in his son's voice made him angry at himself but he knew he had to do this.

"Charlie, please!" Max pleaded once more as Charlie looked at him.

Suddenly, Zeus slows and stops punching. Charlie smirks as he yells, "Hey, kid? Now!"

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Harry easily gave into Charlie's commands and began to enact his counterattack against Voldemort. With the Dark Lord as tired as he was, there was no escape from Harry's punches. Harry knows exactly what he must do to get rid of the soul shard. After he does it though, he'll be too tired to fight and his program will continue following Charlie's moves for him.

Harry quickly uses his magic to overload his processor for a couple of seconds as he cocked back a fist and mentally shouts, _'Avada Kedavra!'_

A deep and terrible screech echoes through Harry's mind as Voldemort's soul shard is expelled and destroyed from Zeus. There is a huge thud when Zeus hits the ground. Things begin to grow blurry for Harry and he can barely hear the cheers of the crowd. He knows that he just magically exhausted himself and needs some time to recuperate before he can wake again.

'_Max I kept my promise.' _

The last thing his consciousness hears before his processor takes over is the ESPN commentator yelling, "Zeus is down! This little bot has dug deep here tonight and shown something damn near heart!"

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A familiar darkness surrounded Harry's glowing form as his pale lids slowly rose. There was no one else in sight nor was he able to sense anyone. It was an experience that he would not mind never repeating. It reminded him too much of when he died the first time, if he had really died anyway. He still was unsure about that.

"Hello! Is anyone there?" The teenager called out but no one answered.

Finally when he was just about to give up, someone or something began to materialize in front of him from the vast shadows. The figure was tall and slender but seemed to be made completely of shadow as no skin or clothing was visible. It was a sight that most likely would have sent most people into panic attacks, but Harry had never been like most.

"What are you?"

The figure seemed to become amused when it heard the question, or Harry felt like it was amused. It was extremely hard to tell.

'**I am no one, yet everyone at the same time. I have no time left, yet I have all the time in the world. I can give and take away. You know who I am Master Harry.'**The figure spoke as a rip appeared where Harry assumed was its mouth.

"Death! You're Death! Then…that means that I'm DEAD!" Harry yelled as he watched the amused figure stride even closer to him.

'**No, you are not necessarily dead Master.'**

Harry paused in his frantic thoughts about how he had broken his promise to Max and asked, "Well then why am I here? I was positive I died when I was hit by the Avada Kedavra. Then I woke up here alive but in a different body."

'**Like I said, you aren't necessarily dead. In your original world you became the master of the Hallows, the master of Death. Well, more like a partner to Death in reality. I have no true master but I will always follow nature and time's laws. Your soul originally would have gone through reincarnation with all of your memories intact to restore balance to whatever world was thrown off. That is the duty of Death's Partner. However, your soul had some…imperfections.'**

Harry quickly interjected when he heard this, "The Horcrux."

The shadow figure, Death, seemed to bristle at that word as it hissed, **'Yessss…the **_**Horcrux**_** and because you were linked to that insane Dark Lord through it, he was sent to another world which through off the balance there horribly. As we speak he is reining that world through tyranny and fear. There is no one to oppose him there. It is your duty to go and restore things to their proper order before he destroys that world completely.'**

Harry froze at those words and before he could even think to stop himself said, "I can't go. I can't leave Max here. I made him a promise."

The shadow figure seemed to laugh at this as it blurred into motion and grabbed Harry by the neck and pulled him closer. The raven haired wizard could smell the rotten breath that caressed his face sinisterly. He had honestly never been more terrified in his life than at that moment.

'**You have no choice in this matter. You will go and fix these things because you are at fault. Thankfully your friends were competent enough to destroy the other soul pieces before you were killed. This is what must be done, even if you have to go against your will,'** Death hissed angrily as its hold on Harry's throat tightened.

"Ugh…I…Can't...ah…Leave Max," Harry choked out as his vision blurred.

Death simply sighed and tossed its new small partner to the ground. The Hallows just couldn't choose a more stubborn person to be his partner could they?

'**Very well, you have forced my hand. If you do stay here and don't fix the other realm then this world and all of the others will be destroyed.'**

Harry continued to gaze defiantly at the figure but couldn't feel any lies coming from its statement. He knew that his wants really didn't matter but he couldn't just abandon Max here.

'**He won't be alone you know. He does have family here and you helped bring them together. Your work here is done and now you must head to the next realm because your soul is now free of imperfections. I will give you some time to say goodbye but that is all.'**

Those were the last words Harry heard from Death before his world blurred and lightened.

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"Atom? Atom! C'mon Atom, wake up! We're alone now!"

Harry woke up to Max's pleading voice from his magically induced coma. He could tell that it had been about three days since the fight from his internal clock. Poor Max must have been worried sick when he hadn't responded the first time.

'_Yes Max, I'm awake. Could you turn my shadow function on so I can see you please? I used up too much energy in the fight with Zeus.'_

A couple of seconds later, the darkness faded to show Max's worried blue eyes clouded over in unshed tears. Harry mentally winced at the fact that he couldn't move on his own for Max. He really wasn't kidding when he said he used up too much energy. Magic was a very temperamental thing and by using too much of it, one risks their body exploding with it.

'_Sorry for worrying you Max,'_ Harry said sheepishly as Max's tears began to slide down his pale cheeks.

"You big **idiot**! I was so scared that you had **died**! I thought I had **lost you** just like…just like I lost **her**. Don't you **ever** do that to me again!" Max screamed in between sobs as he flung himself into the robot's arms.

'_I'm sorry Max, but I had to defeat him. There was something in him that needed to be destroyed. I can't tell you any more than that,'_ Harry said lamentingly.

Max slowly looked up into the green optics of Atom and blinked away tears. He was glad that his bot was alive but he was scared that now that he would disappear. He didn't want it to happen, he needed Atom still.

"Max! Hey Max where are ya'?" A familiar gruff voice called as the door to the truck swung open.

Light filled the whole area as Charlie looked upon the strange scene. Max was in Atom's arms and crying while Atom was actually on!

"So you got him to work!"

Max looked at his father in puzzlement before getting a sly look on his face and whispered something to Atom. Charlie then felt a strange sensation, as if something was poking him inside his head before a polite, English accented voice said, _'Hello Charlie.'_

"GAH!" Charlie yelped as he looked around before asking, "Max was that you?"

Max just giggled as Charlie continued to freak out. Now he knew why Atom was so amused when he had first spoken to him. It was funny to watch his father, normally a calm gruff man, squeal like a little girl and look so shocked.

'_Now Charlie, I'm out for only three days and you go and forget about me!'_ Harry exclaimed in a mock-hurt voice.

Max couldn't contain his laughter any more as Charlie fell back when he realized what the voice was implying. His jaw had dropped and his eyes were as wide as saucers. That all quickly changed when he heard Max's laughter.

Charlie's face became red with both anger and embarrassment that his son had fooled him. He glared at the blonde boy and bit out, "Haha, very funny Max. Now seriously how did you do that?"

'_Now Charlie, it was not Max that said or did anything in particular. You heard my voice inside your head. It is a rare technique from where I come from.'_

Charlie growled when he heard the voice again. He looked at Max with a stern look and said, "Max Stop doing that."

Max looked from Atom to Charlie and stopped laughing. Charlie obviously wasn't going to go along with Atom's story as easily as Max did. The young boy figured that he should try and explain this to his father so he began to speak.

Max told the story as if Harry was some sort of mystical guardian angel which flattered Harry but seemed to make Charlie angry. When he continued to say that they have been speaking since they met, Charlie had stopped Max's explanation with a hand.

"You need to stop now Max, it isn't funny anymore."

Max looked between his two favorite people helplessly as Charlie began to herd him away from Atom.

'_Charlie, I can tell you something that only you and I would know. Then would you please believe Max?'_

The gruff man stopped in his tracks as he looked down at Max then to Atom and gave a sharp nod.

'_Well, when you gave Max to his aunt you were inside the truck and said, "What the hell am I supposed to do with a kid like that? He…he's better off with her. She could buy him everything he wants and needs. Why would he wanna stay with me," then you went and kicked the shelf next to where Max slept.'_

Charlie stiffened at that, and remained frozen for a few minutes. If it weren't for his chest rising, Harry would have thought he was dead. Then Charlie whirled into motion and pushed Max behind him yelling, "Who the hell are you and what do you want?"

'_Easy Charlie, I only have a question for you two. I can tell that my time here is almost up. I completed one of the reasons I was sent here but now I need an answer. A truthful one from both of you, do you understand?'_ What Harry said was true, he could hear whispers of something and his vision was beginning to blur a bit. The soul shard's words had been bothering him a bit. It had said something about other worlds and had said the word we. Could it be that more of the shards are out there in different universes? If so then he was coming close to his entering his next destination.

When he received nods from both of the males in front of him he asked, _'Are you happy?'_

They both gave him a confused look before nodding slowly but then Max got a look of realization.

"You're leaving aren't you?!"

The poor boy looked horrified when Atom didn't answer. He scrambled to get back to the robot but was held back by Charlie.

"No! You can't leave me Atom! Not you too! I already lost her, why do you have to go too?"

Max was clawing at the arms holding him back, desperate to get to his big brother figure. He didn't understand, Atom had said he'd stay for as long as he needed him. Why was he leaving when he was still needed?

'_Max, you're happy now. You don't need me anymore. You are a confident, kind, smart young man that can do anything he wants to. My job is completed and now you can decide how to live your life.'_

It hurt Harry to watch the normally composed boy tremble and sake with tears streaming down his cheeks. He was like his younger brother but the wizard knew that he was needed somewhere else now. If he had a choice then he would be staying here with Charlie and Max, fighting in the occasional league match.

"No, I do need you. I don't want you to go anywhere I'll only be happy with you and Charlie!" Max cried as he reached for Atom.

Harry closed his optics and focused on separating himself from the shell that was known as Atom. He knew that he had succeeded in showing them his true self when he heard their stunned gasps.

"You…you're a kid!" Charlie exclaimed, stunned that a teenage boy with glossy black hair and emerald eyes had just come out of the sparring bot.

'_Yes, I wanted to show you both what I truly looked like before my departure. My name is Harry Potter and I come from England, at least a different world's England.'_

Harry looked down at Max and smiled sadly as he began to become translucent. He was being called somewhere, it was a strange place. One with very poor areas, several cities called districts. He saw lots of children in lines, blood, fighting, and terrible horrible things. Wherever he was to go next, it was not going to be a pleasant place. He wouldn't have a charge either; instead he would have to guide an entire nation.

'_Max, I would never willingly leave you but I must go and help others. It is my duty to restore balance to the world; it was because of my mistake that things were thrown off. Plus, I will never really be gone. You two will always remember me and you won't ever have to be alone because you two have each other. So please, when I'm gone, be happy.' _Harry smiled at the two people he had grown close, placed a kiss on Max's cheek, whispered something in his ear and told Charlie to look after him before he disappeared.

Charlie looked back down at his son and asked, "Are ya gonna be alright kid?"

This was so strange and surreal that he didn't even really believe it had happened but with Max's sobs, it was hard to just brush it off as a figment of his imagination. It really was unbelievable that a seventeen-year-old kid came out of his robot and then disappeared. He didn't let go of Max until his son stopped crying.

Max's sobs slowly subsided and he smiled sadly at the now empty shell of Atom and snuggled into his dad's arms. He knew he wouldn't be alone anymore but it would still hurt to think about Harry. He knew that someone else needed his big brother and that they were much worse off than himself but he wanted to continue to selfishly cling to Harry. He slowly got up and moved towards Atom, feeling more than seeing his father's attentive eyes on his back. He gasped lightly when he saw what was on the floor.

It was a butterfly pin just like the one he had told Harry his mother had before she died. He grabbed it and held it tight as a small smile broke out on his face. He remembered Harry's last words to him:

'_I love you little brother. I'll see you later; give Charlie hell for me will you.' _

"I will, I love you too big brother. I'll see you soon."

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**Well thank you for reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.**

**For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Hunger Games Series, Panem is where Harry will be heading to next. I believe there will be some romance in this next fic but I'm still on the fence. This fic will not be in the Real Steel HP X-over so you should check my page to see when it's uploaded.**

**Thank you all for reading, I do hope that you comment on this story and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks,**

**SJB**


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